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Dred Scott v Sanford is a popular case in United States History It set precedence for the 13th 14th and 15th amendments the amendments that solely relates to African Americans Dred Scott a slave in 1857 declared his right to be free under the Supreme Court In 1839 Scott and his master moved to Missouri which was a slave state Four years later a US army surgeon named Dr John Emerson bought Scott and moved him into the free state of Illinois In 1836 Scott and Emerson moved to Wisconsin Territory Due to the Missouri Compromise slavery was prohibited in this area Emerson died in 1843 and gave everything to his widow Irene including Scott and his family Scott now wanted to work toward his freedom because he argued that he was taken away from the free state of Illinois against his will The court ruled against Scott saying he was unable to rule under the court because hes an African American He ultimately lost his case in a 7 to 2 ruling If African Americans were US citizens then they must have all of the rights of other citizens including the right to sue in a federal court Therefore the first question before the court involved the Constitutions definition of a citizen The second question before the Court involved the kinds of limits the Constitution puts on laws about property If slaves were property then Congress faced the same limits when it made a law about slavery as when it made a law about property The court argued that Scott was not a Citizen because slaves were considered property and could not rule under the federal court According to the Court the drafters of the Construction had viewed all African Americans as beings of an inferior order and altogether unfit to associate with the white race The courts stated that Scott was not a free man even though he had resided for a time

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